Burnley stun Spurs with late leveller at Wembley

TOTTENHAM’S hopes of kick-starting their season fell to pieces in the dying moments this afternoon (Sunday) when a late, late strike gave visitors Burnley a share of the spoils.

A goal from Dele Alli early in the second half looked enough to hand Spurs a morale boosting victory – their first in their temporary Wembley home – against a hard working but ultimately one dimensional Burnley side. But in the dying moments, a through ball fell for the visitors substitute Chris Wood and he nailed home an unlikely equaliser.

Speaking after the match, manager Mauricio Pochettino said he was concerned by the way his side let three points slip.

“I feel disappointed by the lack of concentration at the end,” he admitted. “Burnley are tough, but when you score and make it one nil, when you have the chances to kill the game, you have to concentrate. It was a collective mistake. It was our fault.”

He added he felt his side played as well as they had at White Hart Lane last season and it had nothing to do with their new surroundings. “I thought our overall performance was good and we created a lot chances,” the manager said, “but we need to find our balance – you pay when you are not focussed for 95 minutes. That is the key.”

It was all Spurs in the first half, but Burnley put plenty of players behind the ball and Pochettino’s men could not break the deadlock. Chances came and went. On 18 minutes, Harry Kane headed over from close range, while Heung-Min Son was played in but incorrectly ruled off side.

Kane looked hungry – a spin and snap shot was goalbound but for a trailing foot by a defender which sent it over, and then the striker had a golden chance from close range that was blocked. It was one way traffic, but worryingly for Pochettino, things were even when the referee called the first half to a halt.

On 49 minutes, Spurs did find a way through. Kane and Son had already caused havoc in the Burnley box when a nice move down the right saw a corner won and the ball flung in. Alli shot, it hit a gaggle of players and fell again for the forward. who toe poked home.

Burnley had to come out and play. It made the contest interesting as Spurs sought to exploit gaps and the Lancashire side began to finally test the home defence.

But then, disaster: as Spurs ran the clock down, a long ball fell for Wood between Tottenham’s static defenders and he finished to claim a share of the spoils.